


The Ghost of A&W

by Leahelisabeth (fortheloveofcamelot)



Series: The Girls of A&W [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: A&W, Case Fic, F/M, Fast Food, Ghosts, Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-02
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-03-10 02:45:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3273836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortheloveofcamelot/pseuds/Leahelisabeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Self insert, written for my friends at A&W.  Every ten years, two people disappear from the Swift Current, SK A&W.  Are Leah and Shelby next? Rated for mild language, inuendo and lots of violence and blood.  Not a serious fic. . .not in the slightest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was a rainy Thursday just before 4:00pm. Leah stepped throught the back door at A&W and wiped her feet on the mat, shaking the water from her hair.

"Hey Leah," Samantha, greeted her as she clocked in.

"Hey," Leah smiled. "Did I miss anything exciting?"

"Oh gosh no, This day probably couldn't go any slower. We are actually completely empty now. At least I only have half an hour left," Samantha sighed.

"Oh lucky you, I am closing tonight so I have at least eight hours to go," Leah sighed.

"Really? You better be careful," Samantha said, looking a little worried."

"Why would I need to be careful?"

"Don't you know what day it is?"

"Um. . .Thursday?"

"You seriously don't know?" Samantha asked, incredulous. At Leah's confused look, she continued. "50 years ago today, this restaurant opened and on the night of its opening, the owner, Ephraim Bauer, disappeared without a trace. Nobody knows what happened. The door was locked, everything was cleaned and finished and closed, but he never made it home. The case grew cold and people stopped caring. Then, exactly ten years later, two more people disappeared and then every ten years since then, two more. One closing in the front, the other in the back, and it is always the same, everything clean, finished and locked up. They never make it home and in the middle of the counter, there is one deep red rose. Not a single one of them has ever been seen again. so be careful tonight. It would suck if you disappeared."

"And you believe in this?" Leah asked, one eyebrow raised. "You think its what. . .a ghost? I don't believe in ghosts."

"You don't have to believe in them. They will kill you anyway."

They were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Leah looked over at the two young men walking in and stopped breathing for a second. She nudged Samantha with an elbow and nodded toward the door.

Samantha looked over and said "Mmmhmm!" her eyebrows shooting up nearly to her

hairline. She nodded emphatically.

The two men walked up to the counter where Leah stood ready to take their order.

"Hi Sweetheart," the shorter of the two spoke first. "I would like the Grandpa Cheese burger with extra cheese, extra bacon and extra onions, onion rings, large fries and large chocolate shake and maybe a large coke too, plus whatever girly crap Sammy here is having." Leah punched in his order and looked up. . .and then up again at the taller guy. He began to speak.

"I will have your Chicken Grill Deluxe, side salad with ranch dressing and an iced tea." He looked down, puzzled, when he saw Leah had made no attempt to put in his order. "You alright?"

Leah was staring, mesmerized, at his lips when she realized he had asked her a question. "What? Oh. . .yes. . .sorry. . .Chicken Grill?" She looked down at the till as he repeated his order, her face burning bright red. She could hardly stand to look at him as they paid for their order, took it and sat down.

Samantha looked over at Leah and giggled. "Smooth, real smooth."

"Shut up," Leah said. "Did you look at him? He is pretty much too gorgeous for words. i just froze. . .how embarrassing."

"No worries. You probably will never see him again anyway. but you're right, they are gorgeous. . .both of them. . .and wearing far too much clothing. Mmm. . .yum."

The two girls giggled before going back to work. Samanthat finished her shift and then the supper rush started and soon neither was thinking about the two young men that sat at the table in the corner.

.~o()o~.

"So what do you think, Sam?" The shorter young man asked as he took a huge bite out of his cheeseburger.

"Honestly, Dean, its too soon to tell, but if we're right, two of the people working here tonight stand a good chance of not getting out alive." Sam answered.

"I meant the girls. The redhead was totally checking you out. You practically had her speechless and drooling," Dean winked.

"Haha, funny, she's cute, but that's not not why we're here," Sam rolled his eyes.

"Why not, she may be more on the cuddly side than your usual but I bet she could still do something to make tonight a little more. . .fun for you."

"Shut up," muttered Sam. "Suppose she was one of the ones staying late tonight. Do you think she would want me to flirt, or do you think she would want me to save her life?"

"Buzz kill," Dean whined. "Ok, what about that one?" He pointed to a newly arrived blonde girl.

"Dude, does the word jailbait mean anything to you?"

"Oh come on, she has to be at least nineteen. Besides, she's hot," Dean grinned.

Sam just rolled his eyes and turned back to his notes. "Ok, so every ten years, just like clockwork, two people die in this restaurant. They are male or female of any age, one closing the restaurant in the front, one closing in the back. They all disappear sometime after 11:00pm. The manager survives but notices nothing. They either don't leave the office and hear nothing or they leave for a moment and find the door locked when they return. Instead of trying to get back in, they just go home and go to sleep. They don't remember why they left in the morning."

"So obviously we are thinking ghost," Dean observed, trying to ignore the beautiful distraction that was talking and laughing with the redhead.

"It is the most likely scenario. We just need to figure out who it is and we have about six hours to do it in," Sam looked at Dean, trying to convey seriousness, but he burst out laughing when he saw Dean staring as the girl finally walked into the back, love sick expression on his face.

"Can we interview her?" Dean asked.

"No, Dean, we'll stick to the girls behind the counter. And you had better behave yourself."

"Don't I always?" Dean pasted a hurt expression on his face.

"I am pretty sure the last time I saw you behave yourself, you were unconscious."

"Hey, be fair, what about when I am asleep?" If possible, Dean looked even more wounded.

"Not all misbehaving is physical."

A big grin spread across Dean's face. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I remember the dream I had last night. I was a very bad boy. There was this blonde chick with the biggest pair of. . ."

"Dean!" Sam practically shouted. "TMI!"

". . .couches in her living room. We each had one of our own and we sat there and watched a movie and I refused to share my popcorn, no matter how much she asked," he laughed at Sam's red face. "What did you think I was going to say? You really need to get your mind out of the gutter, Sammy."

"Shut up," Sam glared at his brother. "and don;t call me Sammy or I'll. . ."

"You'll what, give me your best bitchface? Hate to tell you this, but I've seen it before and I'm still standing. In fact, I can see it right now and I'm pretty sure I'm not running in fear."

Sam shook his and stood up, taking his tray with him. "I'm going to go do some real work. you are free to join me."

Dean sighed, slurped up the last of his shake and stood. "If we have to."

.~o()o~.

Leah turned beet red again when she realized the two young men from before were walking toward the counter with their trays. She looked around at everyone, but they were all occupied. She listened, hoping for an order from drive through, but she couldn't legitimately ignore them without being rude.

"I can take those," she said, proud she managed to get the words out without stuttering. She turned to go, but the taller one stopped her with a word.

"Hey, if you have a minute I would like to ask you a question or two."

Leah nodded mutely.

"My name is Sam, this is my brother, Dean. We are writing a book about the paranormal, focusing on ghost stories in rural areas and were wondering what you could tell us about this place."

Leah smiled, this she could handle. "Someone told me the story today. Apparently, the original owner of the store, Ephraim Bauer, disappeared the night the restaurant opened and every two years since then, two people die, leaving nothing behind but a single red rose."

"And no one knows what happened to him?" Sam continued.

"Not that I heard, but I only heard the story in passing. The girl who was telling me left already and we kind of got distracted. . ." her cheeks turned faintly pink again.

"So you couldn't tell us where he is buried?" Dean made an effort to focus on what the girl was saying, but he was trying to catch a glimpse in the back of the girl he had seen before.

"I am assuming since he disappeared, there is no body. No body. . .no grave," Leah smirked.

Sam laughed at his brother before turning back to Leah. "May I ask who is closing tonight?"

"Well, I am closing out here and Shelby is closing in the back."

"Shelby?" Dean spoke up again. "By any chance is that the hot blonde I saw clocking in earlier." He winked at Sam and nudged him with his elbow.

"Uh. . .she is the only blonde girl working in the back right now."

Sam ignored his brother's glee. "So what do you think of all this? Does it scare you?"

Leah turned red again. Factual explanations were fine, but he was just too gorgeous. . .and he was asking about her feelings. "Uh. . .no. . .its fine. . .they probably made it up to scare people. . .uh. . .that's the drive through. . .I gotta go." She started to walk away.

"Can you at least tell me your name?" Sam called after her as she walked away. She looked back at him and bit her lip before smiling shyly.

"Its Leah," then she did walk away. "Welcome to A&W, how may I help you?"

"One thing is for sure," Sam said as he watched her walk away. "We need to find a way to be in here when the restaurant closes. She is not dying tonight."


	2. Chapter 2

Sam and Dean sat in the parking lot behind A&W.

"So how do we wanna work this?" Sam asked.

"Oh you know, the usual, rush in, stop ghost, save girl, whisk girl away and make mad passionate love til sunrise."

"Right, I would prefer to be a little bit more prepared than that," Sam sighed. "We don't know for sure who this guy is. How often is information from the locals completely accurate? Details are exaggerated, names are changed. Can we at least go and find a wireless connection so I can see if Ephraim Bauer even existed? It will give you some time to figure out what we can safely take in with us. I have this feeling that even if we did manage to get out and to the car, we probably won't be able to get back in.

They went and parked by one of the motels in the area and Sam got to work. Dean soon finished his work in the trunk, pulling out two trusty shotguns, a number of rocksalt rounds, accelerant and another big bag of salt. After that, he wandered around, alternately chucking rocks in the parking lot and banging on the windows of the Impala to try to startle Sam.

Finally, at about ten o'clock, Dean slid back into the driver's seat. "Look Sam, if you haven't found anything by now, you're not going to. We should just stick to my plan."

"What plan, excuse me if I don't think running in for the sole purpose of making mad passionate love is going to work. And I really don't know what's going on here, but the history of this family is locked up tight. The only mention I could find of the opening was 'Mrs Rachel Bauer, husband and three children, proud owners of the new A&W.' It doesn't mention her husband's name. Then three years later, there is a marriage certificate, Mrs Rachel Bauer to Mr Henry Tull, so obviously something happened to her husband, but I can't find out what. I don't know, Dean, it could be a vengeful spirit, or it could be something else entirely, I just don't know."

"Well, regardless, people are dying and if we don't get it tonight, we have to wait ten years, so my plan is better than nothing," Dean said seriously.

"You're right," Sam sighed. "So how are we planning to be inside after they close?"

"Honestly, I think we should just go back at quarter to eleven, order something to stay and then just not leave. Hopefully something will happen before they kick us out. I mean, its not like there is anywhere to hide."

"Man, we really are leaving everything up to chance."

"We'll be fine, what could go wrong?" Dean grinned. Sam just sighed.

"Famous last words. . .One half hour?" he asked. Dean nodded.

Twenty-five minutes later, Sam sighed and said, "I give up. We will probably have better luck just asking the ghost. Let's go."

.~o()o~.

Leah was watching the clock. In five minutes, Dara would lock the doors and then she could finally get something done. It had been pretty much steady for the last hour or so. Pretty much all the orders had been to go, but it had taken up precious time she could have been using to get ahead on her closing jobs. The sweeping and mopping were finished but she had yet to start on tables.

She groaned inwardly when the door swung open again and the two young men from before walked in. Sure, they were gorgeous, but they distracted her terribly from her work and, by this time, she was so tired, all she wanted to do was get out of the restaurant and get back home.

This time, she was all smiles and professionalism as she took their order, finally able to speak to them without blushing after the third encounter. She packed their food to go, trying to send a subtle hint that they needed to leave, but instead, they sat in the same table as before, up top in the corner, but still with a decent view of the counter.

It wasn't two minutes after they walked in that Dara locked the door.

Sam and Dean showed every sign of settling in and enjoying a leisurely meal. Eleven o'clock came and Dara popped her head out front saying, "I am going to drive Melissa home."

It was only a few minutes after that, that everything started to go wrong. At first it was just little things. A customer had spilled their drink on the freshly mopped floor and hadn't told anyone. It wasn't liquid as much as it was now just sticky. The stacked lids above the pop machine fell and scattered all over. The first and second times, she just swept them up and refilled them. The third time, she just left them where they lay, intending to sweep them up when she swept behind the counter later.

It was when things started breaking that she got really frustrated. First a mug fell off a tray, then another one fell out of her hand as she was putting it away. The third one simply shattered in her hand, thankfully not cutting her.

Then, when she finally managed to get out the mop to clean up the spilled pop, she lifted the mop too high and shattered the light above her, sending pieces of glass and plastic everywhere. Her first impulse was to throw the mop and have a good old-fashioned temper tantrum when she heard one of the guys laughing. In their quiet conversation, she could discern one word. "Klutz."

Leah had had enough. She marched over there and, although she tried to be nice, she couldn't quite keep the irritation out of her voice. "I'm sorry, we are actually closed now, so perhaps you could hurry it up a little."

"Oh come on, Sweetheart," Dean winked and grinned up cockily at her. "We would really like to stick around and catch a glimpse of this ghost. We will just sit here and you can get back to breaking things."

"I am sorry, I have work to do and it is already nearly eleven thirty. You really need to move on. Tim Horton's is open all night."

"You're kicking us out?" Dean stood, "Look lady. . ."

"No, you look. I'm tired, its been a long day and I want to go home. I am not going to lie down and let you walk all over me just because you are fluent in asshole."

Dean's face turned red in anger and he opened his mouth to say something but Sam stopped him and looked up at Leah.

"It would really help us out," he turned on his pleading puppy dog eyes. "We have second hand stories but we could really use an eyewitness account. Just for a few minutes? We will leave as soon as you can no longer work around us."

Leah felt herself start to melt at the look in his eyes. "Alright," she said softly. "You can stay until I have finished the rest of the tables, but then, ghost or no ghost, you will have to go." Sam smiled a thank you and Leah felt her face begin to heat up again.

Leah was nearly finished and the boys were trying to think of another excuse to stay when the tub f of mugs that she was filling shifted slightly. A soft clinking sound began. Sam and Dean tensed a little as it began to move ever so slightly.

Leah turned to see what was going on and as she did so, one of the large mugs lifted itself out of the tub and flung itself straight at her face.

Sam was out of his chair in an instant and flinging himself down to the lower level, hurdling the wall between, grabbing her arm and pushing her behind him. The mug hit his chest with a loud thud, stealing his breath for an instant.

Leah's eyes were wide and suddenly Sam's hand on her arm was the only thing holding her upright. "Are you ok?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just bruised. Are you ok?" He brought his other hand and tenderly cupped her chin, looking into her eyes. Leah felt her breathing slowly return to normal, lost in the sensation of his large hands on her skin when suddenly they heard a scream from the kitchen.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean was running before the sound could die away. When he reached the kitchen, he stopped in momentary horror. The fryers were boiling. Huge bubbles rose slowly to the surface and broke, sending sprays of hot oil everywhere and, scrunched in the corner, as far away as she could possibly get, was Shelby, the hot oil cutting on her only escape.

"Help," she looked up at Dean, terrified. Without another thought, he whipped off his leather jacket and held it to shield his face from the boiling oil. Everything in him wanted to just run to her, scoop her up and dash away, but he could already feel his boots slipping on the grease-covered floor.

Carefully planting each foot, he made his way to her, grunting when he felt the heat of the oil soaking into his jeans. He bit his lip and ignored the pain.

He reached Shelby and pulled her out of the corner and, shielding her with both his body and his jacket, they began their slow, careful journey out of the line of the fire.

"Dean! You alright?" He heard Sam yell from outside the door.

"We're fine!" Dean yelled back. "Hold on! Don't come in here. We'll come to you."

Shelby heaved a huge sigh of relief and clung to dean when the kitchen door swung shut behind them.

"Did it burn you?" Dean asked when they reached the others and he got her into a chair.

"Just a little bit on my hand," she said quietly, lips pinched from pain, but otherwise growing calm.

Leah immediately jumped up and, going to the pop machine, filled one of the large frozen mugs with water and brought it back. "Put your hand in here, and hold onto it tightly, we don't want it to fly away," she laughed nervously.

The boys pulled one of the tables into the open space in front of the counter and poured a large circle of salt around the table and a good section of floor while Leah and Shelby sat, trying to come to terms with the paradigm shift.

When they finished protecting the area, Sam pulled Shelby's hand from the glass to look at it. The burn wasn't serious, it had already faded from the angry red and was only mildly sensitive to touch. Sam put some ointment on the burn and put a bandage over it. Then he turned to Dean and said one word, "Pants."

"What? No!" Dean sputtered.

"Dude, I can see the oil stains and you're walking like you've got a major diaper rash. Drop 'em so I can make sure they aren't serious."

"Are you crazy? There are girls in here?"

Sam raised one eyebrow. "Now you're shy?"

"Well. . .it's just. . ." Dean looked at his boots.

"What Dean? We have work to do and don't have time for you to do this."

"I donlikemylegs. . ." he mumbled softly.

"What?"

"I don't like my legs, ok. There is a reason I never wear shorts. My legs are skinny and a little bit bowed and my knees are bony. When I pick up a girl, I always take my shirt off first, let her be awed by the glory of my muscular torso and later my other impressive manly attributes. She never notices my hideous legs."

"Ok first of all, TMI and second, do you want to strip completely naked so I can check the burns on your legs or would you rather just remove your pants, because I am checking one way or another."

"Fine," he pointed at the girls and shot them a menacing glare. "Don't laugh."

"Honestly, Dean, you call me the girly one?" Sam said as Dean whipped his pants of quickly, motioning Sam to get things over with quickly. Most of the burns weren't serious, just a little red, the oil having mostly cooled down by the time it soaked all the way through the heavy fabric, but there were a few on his upper thighs that had blistered. Sam bandaged these and Dean gingerly pulled his jeans back on.

"So. . ." Shelby spoke up when they were finished. "What's going on? Who are these guys? I mean, I am grateful you saved my life, but what the heck are you doing in here? We're closed."

"Shelby, meet Sam and Dean, apparently a little more than novelists, working part time as knights in shining armour and ghost hunters," Leah said.

"That is partly true, well except for the novelists," Sam spoke. "Dean and I actually search out things like this and hunt them down. Its more of a full time gig."

"And you're here to investigate our ghost? But its just a story. More like a joke really. Someone has a bad day and can't stop dropping things or knocking things over, we blame it on the ghost," Shelby said, shaking her head in denial.

"You really want to tell me you think it is just a story after what just happened to you in the kitchen. Has that ever happened before?" Dean looked her straight in the eyes.

"No, I guess not," she looked at her hands, breathing deeply, before speaking, sounding like a little girl. "And now its after us?"

Sam and Dean just nodded. Shelby and Leah looked at each other, fear clear in their eyes, before looking back at the brother. "How can we help?" They asked together.

"You're not going to panic? Cry? Run around screaming?" Dean asked, surprised.

Leah smirked at him, " Do you think it would help?"

"Well no,"

"This is about our lives," Shelby said. "We can't just sit here and let you save us. Tell us what we can do."

"Well, first of all," Sam said. "We kept hitting dead ends in our research. Is there anything you can add to the story. Is there any obscure part of the story that might clue us in to where to find the remains of Ephraim Bauer. All that we were told is that he disappeared."

"You mean most of him disappeared," Shelby said.

"What do you mean 'most of him?'" Dean asked.

"Raeanne told me the story just yesterday. She was trying to freak me out about closing tonight. You know that every ten years, after the victims' disappearance, they find a single red rose on the counter?" At everyone's nod, she continued. "There was also a rose on the counter the morning after Ephraim disappeared, but it was held in his right hand, severed from the rest of his body and drained of blood. They took it and buried in the family plot, but they never found the rest of his body."

"Damn it," Dean swore.

Leah jumped, " what's the matter?"

"Even if we find his body here and burn it, his hand will still be tying him to the earth. Sammy, we may have to split up."

"If we can even get out," Sam said. "You know most ghosts lock down the building." Thinking, he stood and strode toward the door. As he expected, he couldn't open it. He picked up a chair and swung it at the glass but it just bounced off, jarring his hands. Walking toward the other door and pulling his gun, he went up to the top and, crouching behind the partition to protect himself from any ricochet, he emptied a full clip into the glass doors. The bullets bounced off, leaving the glass untouched.

"Awesome," Dean sighed. "So we pretty much just have to buckle in and survive the night. We can search for a torch the remains here, but that will just make him angry. If we only had someone on the outside."

"Do you think Dad?. . ." Sam started.

"I doubt he is even anywhere close by, not close enough to get to us before morning. Come on, Sam, get back in the salt circle. We need to plan something."

Sam turned and walked back toward them. Leah shouted a warning as another mug flew out of the tub and straight for Sam. He looked where Leah pointed and caught the mug straight on in his face. There was a bright spray of blood from his nose and forehead and Sam dropped like a stone.

.~o()o~.

Samantha shot upright from where she had fallen asleep in front of the TV. Something was wrong. She could feel it. It was just after midnight and she texted Leah, hoping that she was home already. She knew she wouldn't be asleep yet. After 10 minutes passed and she still hadn't received an answer, she got up and went out to her car, driving back into Swift and toward A&W, hoping she would be in time.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam groaned as he slowly climbed back to consciousness. The first thing he was aware of was softness under his head and the faint smell of candy.

"I think he's waking up," a soft voice said. "Sam, can you hear me?"

He groaned out something unintelligible and reluctantly opened his eyes halfway to see worried faces above him.

"Do you remember what happened?" Dean asked. "How many fingers?"

"Eighteen and a half," Sam grunted, slowly pulling himself up to a sitting position and pushing Dean away. "Get off of me. Next time, we're hunting ghosts at McDonalds. They have nice soft paper cups."

"Oh yeah? And how will you feel when Ronald is the one chucking you into walls? Bears you can handle, but clowns?" Dean smirked.

"Shut up. So what's the verdict, Doc?" Sam looked up at his brother, pouting. "Am I gonna live?"

"Oh, you'll have one hell of a bruise on that pretty face," Dean handed Sam a wet cloth. "Here, wipe off the blood. At least the glass didn't break. We would probably be picking out splinters for the next two hours."

Sam grimaced and stood up, putting his hand out to help Leah up from where she had been cradling his head. "Thanks," he smiled, dimples popping out in his cheeks.

"Oh, no problem. I was just glad I could help a little bit."

"We'll have to do it again sometime when I am not unconscious."

"For sure. You can put your head in my lap anytime. . .I mean. . ." Leah turned bright red. She couldn't remember ever blushing this much in a day.

Sam grinned widely. "I'll keep that in mind."

.~o()o~.

Samantha pulled up by the back door of A&W. She figured the back door would still be open, but she couldn't get in. she walked around to look in the windows only to see that all the lights were still on. It was then that she knew for sure something was wrong.

She tried the front, just to be thorough but they were locked. She couldn't see anyone behind the counter and she wondered if she was too late.

When she reached the side doors, she heaved a huge sigh of relief. There, enclosed in a powdery white circle, were Leah, Shelby and the two intensely hot guys from earlier. Relief warred with jealousy and she tried the side door, trying to get in to her friends. It too was locked and so she was stuck, knocking on the other side of the glass.

It took a while for them to notice her. Most of their attention was focused on the taller man with his head in Leah's lap. She watched as he sat up, pain evident on his bruised face, then giggled to herself when she saw Leah's face light up like a beacon.

Finally, her knocking was noticed and Leah began to walk over to the window. The taller man grabbed her arm and kept her from crossing the white line. They discussed animatedly for a little while before Leah grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a sequence of large numbers on it. She held up the piece of paper while miming a phone held to her ear.

Samantha quickly pulled out her phone and dialled the number. The shorter of the two men pulled out his phone when it began to ring and handed it to Leah.

"Oh my gosh, are you all right?" Samantha asked as soon as Leah had the phone to her ear.

"Fine. . .no. . .hurt. . .help. . .burn. . .hand. . .Bauer." Leah's voice crackled.

"I can't hear you with all the static!" Samantha yelled. She saw Leah wince and pull the phone away from her ear before looking puzzled at the taller of the two men.

". . .hear you fine. . .need. . .grave. . .hand. . .Bauer. . .outside. . .stuck."

"I don't understand what you are trying to ask me."

"Can't get. . .of here. . .body burnt."

"What? Who's burnt," Samantha was freaking out just a little. Something had to be terribly wrong.

". . .Bauer. . .hand!"

A masculine hand reached over Samantha's shoulder and took the phone from her. "I'll take that," a low voice rumbled. "Can you put Dean back on the phone?" he asked Leah.

Thus began a combination of conversation and pantomime that was inscrutable to Samantha. Finally, the man hung up and handed her phone back to her.

"Can you give me directions to the cemetery?" he asked her.

"I could take you there," she said when she finally caught a glimpse of his face. He was older, probably late 40's at least, but he had a face that practically screamed "follow me anywhere."

"Directions would suffice."

"Please, my friends are in there. I want to help any way I can."

"I know how you feel, those are my sons. But that is exactly why you can't come with me. Those two girls are already stuck in there. I am glad they have my sons to protect them and I will do anything to make sure they make it out safely. I need to be focused on my job and I can't do that if I have to constantly watching to make sure you aren't hurt. And you won't be able to help me if your emotions are getting in the way. Besides, you have a choice. You can walk away and forget this whole thing happened. It isn't after you."

"And what about your emotions? Won't they get in the way?"

"No," the man's face hardened. "I won't let them."

"I am already a part of this," Samantha said softly. "From the moment I woke up with this feeling, I knew I would be a part of this, right here, right now. You have to let me help you. You don't ever grow out of the need for someone to watch your back. I don't know if I am here for them or for you. But I feel with every bone in my body that I am needed tonight."

"Do you even know what I am going to do?"

"No, but I know that you are not going to leave me behind," Samantha looked up at him fiercely. His face softened, then he broke into a wide grin, dimples showing that were very similar to his younger son's."

"You don't look much like my wife, but you remind me of her anyway. She had that same fire. I think she would have liked you. . ." his voice trailed off as he was lost in sad memories. "She is gone now, no use in dwelling on the past." He cleared his throat. "Look, we are going into a graveyard in the middle of the night. We are going to dig up a severed hand, throw salt and lighter fluid on it and then torch the sucker so hopefully whatever is holding it to the world will be gone and it can go to its rest. Ghosts get pretty pissed when you try to get rid of them and it might try to toss us around a bit. Are you still going to join me in this?"

"Hells yeah! You'll keep me safe, right?"

"I swear it," he said firmly before smiling down at her again. "By the way, call me John."


	5. Chapter 5

There was silence for a little while in the restaurant. Finally, Shelby cleared her throat. "So. . .uh, who was that guy?" she asked.

"That was our dad," Dean said softly, face transforming into a joyous grin.

"Yeah, for once," Sam muttered bitterly.

"You should be thankful!" Dean turned on his brother angrily. "We didn't even ask him to come and yet here he is and he's got our backs."

"Yeah, but why now? Why not when you were dying or when we were in Lawrence at our old house. If he's here to back us up, its by accident."

"We're in Canada, for Pete's sake. How could this be anything but him following us to watch out for us?"

"Oh, I don't know," Sam yelled. "Maybe because there is a ghost here that only manifests once every ten years. You know Dad loves obscure patterns. He's here for the ghost, nothing more. If he saves our asses in the process, that's just icing on the cake."

"We are not talking about this right now. We need to focus." Dean turned away from his brother."

"That's right, go hide in your delusions. It's where you're most comfortable."

"If your face wasn't already messed up, I would beat it in. Don't think I wouldn't."

"And isn't that typical Dean?" Sam said quietly. "Resorting to violence so you won't have to face reality."

"I think we missed the lesson growing up about how to argue constructively," Shelby said to Leah. The boys had the grace to look at least a little ashamed.

"So, ghost hunting now or later. Cause if we're doing it later, we should probably finish our jobs. I actually like this place. I want to keep working here." Leah piped up.

"How about you two finish up? One of us will tag along with each of you, help you out if you need it and we can brainstorm a little, try to figure out where someone could hide a body in here," Sam said.

"Well then, the logical thing to do is get these mugs cleaned up and put away so they can't hurt anyone else." Leah stood up and Sam made as if to follow her but Dean stopped him.

"You have already proven that these mugs have it in for you. And I don't think either of us should be distracted right now. You go with Shelby."

"Fine," Sam shrugged. "I'll go deal with the boiling oil if you are scared."

Dean just glared at his younger brother. "that is so not the point."

Sam just laughed.

Dean was soon following Leah among the tables. She could tell he was on edge. He had his shotgun at the ready and it seemed his eyes were everywhere. He jumped a little every time a chair scraped across the floor or a mug clinked in the tub. And Leah was making no effort to be quiet about anything. She thought he might still be a little ticked from when she had tried to kick him out earlier, but if he wanted to throw a hissy fit, he could damn well do what he pleased. She wasn't about to walk on eggshells for the arrogant jackass.

Finally, Dean snapped. "Honestly, Woman, could you be any louder/"

"Oh probably," Leah smiled up at him sweetly. "I could hum, or sing, and then there is the ever popular screaming at the top of my lungs."

Dean's face darkened and he scowled at her. "Do you think this is a game?"

"Hmm, getting rid of an angry ghost and trying not to get killed or lose my job, definitely not games, but Scrabble, Boggle and annoying the hell out of you? Those are among my favourites." She winked at him as he stood there, flabbergasted.

"Now see here, Sunshine. . ." he started angrily.

"And there's another thing, my name is not woman, lady, sweetheart or any of that other crap you've been spewing. It's Leah. . .Leee-aah, two syllables. Think you can imprint that on your Neanderthal brain? Would you like it if I called you pumpkin?"

They lapsed into angry silence as they finished the tables and headed into the mugroom to take care of the mugs. Leah put the heavy tub down on the metal counter and turned to Dean, just looking at him for a second. "I'm sorry," they both said simultaneously. Dean gestured for Leah to go first.

"I know what you're doing," she said. "You are trying to look out for your brother and he won't let you and now you are taking it out on the nearest target."

"What? No. . .how?" Dean tried to form a coherent sentence.

"You think I don't recognize the look? I have eight siblings, seven of them younger, so I know where you're coming from."

"You don't know jack about me or my brother," Dean jumped right back in, furious.

"Ok, how's this? Your brother is broken, wounded. Maybe he lost someone he loved, maybe a precious dream was shattered, but whatever the cause, he is grieving. You want to step in and just make it better, like you would with a band-aid or a hug when he was six, but you have to let him deal with it on his own. And you're afraid that if you let him do that, you will lose him. And you are afraid he will never be the same and you don't know who you are if you aren't his brother. You would die for him, but that's not what he needs right now. You can't be the hero that swoops in and saves the day and its killing you to just sit back and do nothing. Because being there for him just doesn't seem like enough." Leah put her hand on Dean's arms and looked into his eyes. She could see that she was right. "You are a good big brother, Dean and Sam knows it. And you're doing this right."

Dean shrugged her hand away and laughed nervously. "What are you?. . .psychic?"

"No, just really smart. . .and awesome," Leah grinned.

"And humble?" Dean smiled back at her.

"Pretty much the most humblest ever," she said seriously.

Dean laughed. "I never had a little sister, but if I did, I don't think I would mind if she was a little bit like you. We would probably fight constantly, but we would be an awesome team."

"Aw thanks. . .Butthead," Leah punched him lightly in the arm. "I might be in the market to adopt another big brother."

"Awesome, so I can come over to your place and watch your TV and track mud on your kitchen floor and eat all the food in your fridge?"

"Yeah sure, so long as you drive me everywhere and open doors for me and protect me from creepy old men. Although, if you plan on screening any potential boyfriends, I suggest you lose the shotgun."

Dean put on his most innocent face. "Me? Threaten someone with a shotgun? Never!"

Leah just rolled her eyes at him. She was putting away the last of the mugs when they heard another ear-shattering scream from the kitchen.

"SAMMY!" Dean yelled, all ready to rush in.

"Hey, we're good!" Sam yelled back. Shelby overflowed a bucket. There is water on the floor but we are fine."

Dean and Leah looked at each other and laughed.

"I have a few more quick little jobs to do," Leah said when she could catch her breath. "Then I think we should really find this ghost."

.~o()o~.

It didn't take Samantha and John long to get to the cemetery and they immediately made ready to search among the gravestones.

"I think this would go faster if we split up," Samantha said.

"No, you stay close," John replied. "I brought you with me and I am not going to let you get hurt."

"But don't we need to hurry?" she argued.

"we'll lose more time later if I have to run and save you. No, you read the stones on the right. I'll read the ones on the left and we will watch each other's backs."

Samantha still didn't look particularly happy about his decision. John put his hand on her shoulder. "Your friends are with my sons. If I had to bet on who wins this fight, I would put my money on my boys every time."

Samantha nodded, grabbed the flashlight John handed her and determinedly marched between the rows of gravestones.

.~o()o~.

They managed to finish the rest of their closing jobs in record time and without further mishap. They gathered back in the circle of salt in front of the counter. "There, now unless some psychotic ghost comes and messes things up, all we have left to do tonight is burn the thing," Shelby said with a grin of satisfaction.

"Did you guys think of a place to start looking?" Sam asked Dean. "Or did you just fight the whole time?"

"We didn't really come up with anything, but we didn't fight the WHOLE time. We had a very good conversation as a matter of fact," Dean said defensively.

"About what?" Sam retorted.

"Nothing that concerns you or this case. What about you and Shelby? Did you come up with anything useful?"

Sam turned red. "Well actually, we mainly talked about. . .uh. . .well gnomes. . .mostly."

"Well then we start from scratch, maybe in the basement first. Honestly, I don't even know how this ghost even managed to knock off two people a year. I mean, tossing two mugs and making some oil boil?" Dean snickered. "It's pretty weak."

"Maybe its lulling us into a false sense of security," Shelby said.

"I kind of doubt it. I mean, it could have done all sorts of things while we were cleaning. And I thought the two people were usually gone by this point. Maybe he is already losing touch with his body. We will be vigilant, but I don't really anticipate a lot of problems," Dean said.

"Well alright then, muffin, lets head to the basement."

Sam snorted, "Muffin?"

"Don't ask," Dean muttered.

"Dean's been adopted," Leah said to Sam. "He's my big brother now." Sam raised an eyebrow and Leah continued. "Don't worry, little sisters occupy a completely different part of the heart then little brothers." She lowered her voice to a whisper for his ears only. "Your spot is still safe." Then she turned and followed Dean into the basement, leaving Sam watching her and wondering how she had managed to say the exact thing he needed to hear at that moment. Then he shook his head and smiled, bringing up the rear as they walked down the stairs. It was time to find a ghost and gank the son of a bitch.


	6. Chapter 6

The steps clunked hollowly as they trudged down them. The moment Sam touched the floor, they were plunged into darkness.

"Uh Sam? Did you do that?" Dean asked.

"There isn't a light switch at the bottom of the stairs," Shelby said quietly, reaching out into the darkness and grabbing Dean's jacket. "Do you suppose?. . ."

"Yeah probably, but don't worry, even the weakest ghosts can turn off the lights," Dean replied.

Suddenly, a vicious wind tore through the basement, rattling the cardboard boxes and causing all of them to shiver. Shelby gripped Dean tighter when she felt invisible hands grabbing at her shoulders."

"Its got me!" Shelby yelled, burrowing into Dean's chest. Dean pulled her closer with one arm and with the other, he raised the bag of salt he had been carrying in one hand and flung it around in a wide arc, scattering the white grains all over the basement. The wind died away as suddenly as it had come and the lights flickered back on. In the dim light, Dean realized that he and Shelby were alone.

"SAMMY!" Dean yelled. "LEAH!"

"It was the ghost, he took them, didn't he?" Shelby asked.

Dean nodded. "Yes, but don't worry. I will get them back. Do you want to go back upstairs to the salt circle? You will be safer there."

Shelby drew in one shaky breath and blew it out slowly. "No, I can do this. Besides, I don't want you to disappear too."

Then stay close and keep your eyes peeled. They were taken once we reached the basement so it stands to reason that we are getting closer to his final resting place."

"You don't think they are. . .dead, do you?"

"No!" Dean said fiercely. "I would know if Sam was dead. And if Leah is with him, he won't let anything happen to her."

"What if he can't help it? What if he's hurt or unconscious? What if they were separated?"

Dean gently put his hand on Shelby's chin and raised her head so she was looking into his eyes. "This won't help them. . ." he said. "The best thing we can do right now is toast the SOB that took them. And I refuse to believe they are doing anything but sitting on their asses waiting for us to rescue them. I will not change my mind unless it is proven otherwise. So Shelby, are you with me, because if you aren't, you better just go and sit in that salt circle til its over. I'm gonna go get my brother and your friend."

Shelby looked into his eyes without flinching. "I'm with you, Dean. And I trust you. Let's do this!"

Dean grinned down at her. "I knew I liked you for a reason."

.~o()o~.

The first thing Leah noticed was the dust tickling her nose, then it was the massive migraine beginning in her right temple. She tried to raise her arms to rub at her aching forehead, but movement was limited. It smelled musty and old, like the attic of the house she grew up in. She tried again to raise her hands to her head, but she realized there was a wall about four inches in front of her face.

"I'm in a coffin!' was her first thought, then she realized she was upright. She reached to her sides to find empty space as far as she could reach. "Am I stuck in the wall?"

She started breathing faster, pushing on the wall in front of her, banging as hard as she could in the tiny space. Suddenly, the true implications of her imprisonment crashed down on her and she panicked in earnest. "Help!" she screamed, clawing at the surface in front of her, tears streaming down her face.

"Hey, hey," a deep voice sounded from the darkness on her right and a large, warm hand claimed hers. "Calm down, Leah, calm down."

She caught herself mid-sob when she realized Sam was there too. She clasped his hand in a death grip and slid sideways as close as she could, turning sideways and nuzzling her face into his arm, inhaling his scent and letting it take her out of her state of panic.

"Where are we?" she whispered, sounding so like a lost five-year-old that it broke Sam's heart.

"I think we must be stuck in the wall," he said simply.

"Damn, I was hoping I was wrong. Are we going to die here?" she asked slowly, tears pricking at her eyelids again.

"Hey, hey, hey, no, we are not. Trust me, I will get you out of this. Can you trust me?"

"Trust you? Why the hell should I trust you? I met you a matter of hours ago. You lied about who you are. You carry a shotgun when you go to eat fast food and, in my experience with guys, the hot ones always lie." Panic started building again. Sam dropped her hand and draped his arm around her shoulders, turning awkwardly as much as he could in the tiny space so he could pull her head to his chest.

"Hey, just breathe. I've got you." His deep voice rumbled in his chest . It sort of tickled her ear but, partnered with the steady thud of his heartbeat, it brought her back down to a place resembling calm. "I'm not asking you if you should trust me, I am asking you if you do."

Leah tilted her head up, wishing she could see his eyes in the dark. She thought for a moment, her head still resting on his chest. "You are right, I do trust you, even thought I shouldn't," she said quietly. "And I trust your brother too. With you on the inside, here with me, and him on the inside, I know we'll get out of here."

"I can't believe how fast you figured Dean out. He was such a jerk to you at the beginning, what makes you want to trust him with your life."

"Like I told him, I have seven younger siblings. I know what I would do if any one of them was in trouble. I don't expect any less from Dean, I don't think he knows how to do things small. He won't rest until he gets to be the hero of the day, if not in the world's eyes, at least in yours."

"Yeah, that's Dean, total ass 99.98% of the time, but always there when you need him." He laughed softly to break the tension. "So are you going to make me your big brother next?"

Leah laughed suddenly, her sweet voice echoing slightly in the musty air before she pressed her face into his chest again, breathing him in until her head began to spin. "No, definitely not!"

.~o()o~.

"I found it," Samantha called. "Right here, 'Rachel Bauer and Ephraim Bauer, together again in death,'" she read from the tombstone.

"Strange," John said. "The reports I read said she married again. Why is her name Bauer on the tombstone? And Ephraim's is a full sized plot. If all they had left of him was his hand, would they have buried it in a full coffin?" Something felt off but he couldn't put his finger on it."

"So what do we do?" Samantha asked.

"We dig it up anyway. We can't take any chances," he held up his shotgun. "Have you ever used one of these?"

"Uh. . .no, never."

"That's all right. This shotgun has a pretty good scatter pattern so if you are pointed in the general vicinity, you really can't miss, just try to not shoot me."

Samantha nodded wordlessly as John began to demonstrate how to use it.

"This is how you load it. . .and this is how you cock it," he said seriously.

Samantha laughed inwardly. "He said cock. . .speaking of that particular bit of male anatomy. . ." Samantha thought as she tried to subtly check out the crotch of his jeans. "Damn, he needs to be wearing tighter pants. He can't be tiny, not with those hands, those beautiful hands that are caressing that gun just as if it were a beautiful woman. I wish I could get my hands on him, or maybe my mouth. . .NO, BAD SAM! Stop it, now is not the right time to jump him."

"You got that?" John's voice broke into her scattered thoughts.

"Uh, maybe you better show me one more time," Samantha laughed breathlessly.

Soon, the shotgun was cradled in her inexperienced hands as John grasped the shovel and drove it into the hard soil. . .and then the world went mad.


	7. Chapter 7

Shelby blew her bangs out of her eyes for the fiftieth time, rubbing her sweaty forehead with one dirty hand. In spite of their urgency, Dean couldn't help snickering at the dark, black smudge it left across half her face.

"What?" she asked.

"Sorry, you got a little something on your face," he laughed.

Shelby wiped her hand across her face again, adding splotches to the end of her nose and chin. "Did I get it?"

"It doesn't matter, I already thought you were cute. Besides, I like a girl who isn't afraid to get a little dirty," Dean winked at her.

Shelby sighed, looking at the huge pile of boxes they had moved from the edges of the room to the center. "What exactly are we looking for again?"

"Anything, any clue to what may have happened to Ephraim. I know we won't find a body out here cause someone would have found it long ago, but maybe there is a crawl space or something that has never been used. Look for walls with large patches, especially at floor level, discoloured walls, hollow spots, pretty much anything that looks like it doesn't belong," Dean glanced worriedly at all the space they hadn't explored yet.

"Something's bothering you. What aren't you telling me?" Shelby asked.

"It's just. . .where do you put a six and a half foot sasquatch in a place like this? It doesn't matter where they are, its going to be tight and ghosts aren'[t at all concerned about proper ventilation," Dean paused and looked around a little again before Shelby prodded him to continue. "I've been trying to work it out, see how long they can possibly survive and I think we may already be living on borrowed time. If we don't find them soon. . .they are going to run out of air."

.~o()o~.

After a short time of standing in silence, Leah lifted her head away from the comforting sound of Sam's heartbeat and spoke. "So what are we going to do now?"

"I'll tell you what we aren't going to do," Sam said. "We are not going to panic and scream and claw at the walls like a couple of crazy people. We are going to figure out how much space we have and we will do a quick check for weak spots or openings, but we will not waste energy or air if we don't find anything."

"But how are they going to find us if we don't scream?"

"I didn't say we wouldn't yell for help, I just think we should be calm and logical about this. We will both count to two hundred in our heads and when we both reach it, we will yell for help once, as loudly as we can, together. It will give them more time to find us. This is a small place and that will be enough to guide them to our position."

"More time?" Leah asked, clutching at his sleeve. "What do you mean, more time?"

"Leah. . ." Sam said helplessly. "I don't want to freak you out, but I won't lie to you either. I am pretty sure this space is completely enclosed and I can already feel the air growing thinner. I don't think we have much time before we run out altogether.

"Ok," she nodded, shoving her nose back into his shirt.

"Ok?" Sam sounded amused. "I tell you we are going to suffocate and that's all you have to say? Ok?"

"I guess I've filled my panic quota for the day. The only reaction I have left is calm acceptance."

"Ok then, start counting and lets try and see how much room we have. I already checked over here, the space extends just beyond the length of my arm and I have checked the wall on this side for weak spots but didn't find anything, at least nothing I could break with only a foot or so of leverage. Can you check your side?"

They shuffled slowly to the side, Leah leading into the darkness, Leah had taken two steps when her hand met something hard and smooth that clattered in the stillness.

"What's that?" Sam asked, slightly out of breath.

"I'm not sure," she said, feeling around a little more. It felt like a bundle of sticks, held together in various spots by smooth knobs. She reached a little farther and found something that was a little more like a line of rough pebbles, reaching still farther, she felt a smooth round orb, smooth on the back, but on the front. . .she gasped and pulled her hand away quickly, crowding back into Sam's solid warmth. "I think I found Ephraim!"

"Good! Good girl!" Sam praised, chest heaving as he tried to pull in more air. "Come back over to me. I think we should stop moving. The oxygen will last longer that way."

"Shouldn't we take care of him?"

"Ha!" Sam laughed breathlessly. "It'll burn out the rest of the oxygen and it won't burn long enough to do more than piss him off."

"I knew that," Leah said, trying to make her brain focus on anything beside the way Sam's well muscled arm felt as it pulled her close to him. Her breath was coming in short pants already, but her brow furrowed in worry when she realized how much harder Sam was struggling to breathe. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Shh, don't talk. Dean will come."

"And if he doesn't?"

Instead of answering, Sam tipped her chin up, bent forward and claimed her lips with his own. It was soft, sweet and gentle and so Sam. "Then I don't want to die before knowing what this feels like." He put his lips to hers again, a little more possessively, licking across her bottom lip, and Leah allowed herself to respond, opening her mouth a little under his and tilting her head to draw his taste in deeper. Suddenly, he was blowing, pushing his last breath into her lungs, before he sagged, breath ragged and slowing. Leah knew with a dreadful certainty that he was unconscious.

"Sam?" She tried to yell, but she too could hardly draw enough breath. She could feel dizziness setting in, and not just from the euphoria of Sam's kiss. Lights began flashing before her eyes. "Sam?"

.~o()o~.

The only warning Samantha got was a loud grunt and John was flying across the graveyard. The ghost rose up from the ground, a tall, well-built man with a bushy beard and a beaklike nose. It looked at her with its soulless eyes before dismissing her, flickering out and reappearing above John where he lay, dazed, on the ground about twenty feet away.

It stood over John, then leaned down to press one knee into his neck.

"Shoot it!" John managed to shout before the ghost cut off his air supply.

Samantha finally remembered the shotgun cradled in her arms. She aimed at the ghost, then closed her eyes and shot, the gun striking her hard in the shoulder. When she opened her eyes, John was already standing and halfway toward her.

"Keep an eye out," he said. "That won't get rid of him for long." John dug his shovel back into the dirt. A warning flicker began to his left. Samantha's finger jerked convulsively on the trigger and it dissipated once again.

"Good!" John shouted. "Keep that up! And don't forget to reload!"

Her fingers fumbled the shells nervously, trying to put them in correctly and quickly. The ghostly presence began forming in the moonlight once more. She slammed the shells home in the nick of time and raised the gun and shot just as a translucent hand reached for John's shoulder.

Samantha soon settled into a rhythm, each reload getting a little faster, each shot a little more on target. She was soon completely exhausted, relying more on muscle memory than brain power.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of laughter. The ghost stood right in front of her, doing nothing but looking into her eyes, then it disappeared before she could get off another shot. She could hear the sound of John cursing frantically from the open grave.

"It's not here!" he shouted. "The coffin is empty."


	8. Chapter 8

"What about this?" Shelby pointed to a spot low on the wall in the storage room. There, written in faded ink, was a tiny cross and the words, "you belong to me."

"It's the best thing we've got so far." Dean strode over and kicked at the drywall. He managed to make a hole about afoot off the ground. "Those are Sam's jeans!" he shouted, peering inside. Then with almost inhuman strength, he began tearing away chunks of the wall.

"No, no, no," Dean chanted under his breath when he saw Sam wasn't moving to help. "Shelby, I might need you to help me get them out. As soon as Sam's knees were uncovered, they buckled, no longer held straight by the wall. Soon, Dean had torn away enough that Sam could slump forward and fall out of the wall. Leah fell with him, still conscious, but not aware enough to pull away from him. She gulped in huge breaths, trying to speak.

"Sam's not breathing," she gasped frantically.

Dean looked down at his brother, heart clenching, and realized Sam's lips were turning blue and his chest wasn't moving. He pushed Leah away and began CPR. "How long has he been like this?" he asked between breaths.

"I don't know, I am pretty sure he passed out less than a minute before you broke us out, but I can't be sure. The last part was a little hazy and may have been a product of my oxygen starved, hyperactive imagination."

Dean was only half listening to her, everything else was focused on his little brother, lying far too still and almost as pale as the tile floor beneath him.

Finally, Dean heard the sweet sound he had been waiting for. Sam gasped and coughed a few times and mumbled, "Dean?"

"Yeah Sam, I'm here, I got you. You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Sam's eyes started to drift closed again before they opened wide and he shot upright. Dean caught him when he overcompensated from the dizziness. "Where's Leah?"

"I'm here, Sam," she scooted a couple of feet over to where he sat, not yet trusting herself to stand. Sam had gained enough equilibrium to sit without toppling and he reached out and cradled Leah's face in his hands as soon as she was close enough.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly.

"Better than ok," she smiled gently at him. "Unless I imagined the last part. . ."

"No, that wasn't your imagination," he brushed one calloused thumb across her full lower lip.

Leah laughed and, at Sam's quizzical look, explained. "Trust my first kiss to finally happen when I am too oxygen deprived to enjoy it."

"You kissed her," Dean hooted. "High five!"

"Well then, maybe I should give you one when you are at full mental capacity," Sam said, pointedly ignoring Dean's raised hand. He leaned forward and kissed her again with rather more exuberance than the first two.

"Dean held his tongue for a second or two, then jumper in. "Enough already, if I wanted to see you make out with someone. . .well I don't, so quit it before you scar me for life," Dean trailed off, muttering something about little brothers and adopted little sisters and laws against such things.

Sam and Leah looked at each other and laughed, breathless again, but the good kind this time. "You know," Sam said. "For someone who has never done this before, you sure catch on quick."

"La, la, la, la, la, not listening!" Dean shouted, covering his ears. Leah giggled and Sam rolled his eyes.

"Real mature, Dean."

"Ok, romantic interlude. . .done! Now lets get on with finding a body."

"For once, luck is on our side," Sam beamed proudly at the girl beside him. "Leah found the body in the wall. He was right next to us."

"Finally, we get to my second favourite part!" Dean whooped and pumped his fist in the air.

"What's your favourite part?" Shelby asked.

"Reaping my rewards," Dean waggled his eyebrows roguishly at her.

"Well then," Shelby winked. "Let's get this over with so I can get to rewarding you for a job well done."

"And I am the one scarring you?" Sam interrupted, disgusted. "I probably already need a lifetime of therapy."

Dean ignored him and set to the wall again with a wall, excavating sideways until he found the dry, dusty remains of Ephraim Bauer.

"Well," he grunted as he pulled the remains to the middle of the floor. "Is that all of him?"

"The right hand's gone, but that is accurate to the story."

"Oh crap," Leah said as she looked around Sam's shoulder. "It looks like he's missing two of his metatarsals."

"His metawhatnow?" Dean asked.

"Foot bones," Sam and Leah replied in unison.

"Ok, thank you, squint squad. They must still be inside the wall. "Dean shuddered just looking at the hole in the wall. "Someone needs to crawl in and find them."

Leah clutched at Sam's hand. "You couldn't pay me to go back in there."

Shelby sighed. "I'll do it. I'm the smallest so it makes the most sense." she stood and walked over to the hole, about to crawl in.

"Be careful, we are messing with his actual physical body now. I'm guessing Dad is keeping him occupied for now, but we don't know how much longer that will last. If you feel even the slightest bit threatened, get out."

"Awesome," Shelby swallowed hard and looked at the jagged tear in the wall, a black gaping maw that seemed ready to swallow her whole. She took a deep breath and lunged in headfirst, trying to get the initial panic over with. Soon, she was feeling around in the dark, trying not to think of the bugs and spiders that surely inhabited the darkness.

She found the first one quickly, feeling like a dry twig in the inch of dust that layered over everything.

"Shelby, how're you doing?" she heard Dean's concerned voice from behind her.

"I'm good," she called back. "I found one."

She second one proved harder to find, but finally it too was there in her hand and she prepared to crawl back out through the hole. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from above her. Something collapsed overhead and she was overwhelmed by a mass of spider silk and the crunchy bodies of dead insects.

She screamed, panicking as it covered her face, gluing her eyes tight shut and tangling in her hair. She felt large hands gripping her thighs and then her waist, pulling her backwards out into the light. Then arms were cradling her as gentle hands peeled away the stickiness from her face and a deep voice muttered soothingly.

"It's ok, I'll do it, you don't have to go back in there," Dean comforted her.

"It's alright," Shelby said and, even though she was still shaking, she opened her hand to reveal the two bones. "I found them both."

"Do you think Dad has burned the hand yet?" Sam asked.

"Only one way to find out. . ." Dean grinned, dragging the bones to the clearest patch of floor in the middle of the storage room, sprinkling lighter fluid on it.

Sam grabbed the girls and pulled them into the staff room, flipping the table up on one side to form a barrier and pouring a line of salt around it. "For your protection," he said softly, gently kissing Leah once again before instructing them to sit behind the table. "Don't come out til we give you the all clear."

Sam walked back and stood beside his brother as Dean flicked the lighter on and tossed it onto the pile of brittle bone.

Nothing happened. The bones burst merrily into flame and lay there burning brightly into ash.

"Guess Dad came through in time then," Dean grinned.

Sam nodded and was about to agree when he saw invisible hands grab Dean and toss him across the room. He hit the wall with a sickening thud and slid down, unmoving.

"Dean!" Sam shouted and started forward only to be ripped off his feet by a powerful force.

An invisible hand caught him around the neck and pushed him up against the wall. Sparklers went off in his brain as his air supply was once again cut off. He struggled and the hand slammed his head into the wall. Sam swore he had been hit by lightning.

The hand slowly flickered into visibility, as did the rest of Ephraim's body. A chill swept through Sam as the ghost leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Don't get in my way, boy. I will bnot be denied my revenge."

There was a blast from a shotgun and a slight sting in his chest as he was caught by the edge of the rock salt round. Leah stood there, mouth open and face pale, but she was still only for a moment as Sam's knees buckled and he crumbled against the wall.

Leah rushed to him, Shelby a step behind. "Hey, stay with me here. You're too big to carry," Leah cried as together, they hoisted Sam to his feet. He swayed dangerously.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, struggling to get away and run to his brother.

"Go with Shelby, I'll get him. Lets not waste time arguing when that ghost could be back any second," Leah said firmly before running to where dean lay, still unconscious.

"Oh crap," she muttered to herself. "This is not going to be fun."


	9. Chapter 9

"Damn it," shouted John.

"What happened? Why did it leave?" Samantha gasped, all out of breath.

"We are not a threat to him anymore and he knows it. My guess is the boys have pissed it off somehow and have drawn its attention. We have to find that hand now. That ghost is going to be out for blood."

"But this is his grave, where else would he be?"

"I don't know! Does it look like I have three days to research and figure out all the possibilities." John yelled in frustration, grabbing his hair.

"Don't you dare yell at me, John. This is not my fault!" Samantha glared at him fiercely.

"You're the expert, you know the story. I didn't even know the damn ghosts name until tonight. . .because of YOUR information. So come on, pull out some obscure detail you had forgotten and do it now so I can save my sons." John growled down into her face.

Right, because I obviously don't care as much as you do. My friends are in there too. So you take that back." Samantha glared right back.

"Make me," John muttered darkly.

"Fine!" Samantha gritted her teeth.

"Fine!"

They stood, eyes locked in an emotional standoff. Finally, Samantha tore her eyes away and launched herself at him, shoving him to the ground and driving all the air out of his chest. Before he could regain it, her lips were on his and all the rage and fear and worry were being vented all at once in one explosive kiss.

The world narrowed down to soft moans and the sensual drag of lips and tongue as they devoured each others mouths, and suddenly it didn't matter that they were in a graveyard and that the ground was damp and the grass was dead and prickly. Nothing mattered but the heat where their bodies touched and the cold and painful wanting where they didn't.

Finally, Samantha pulled back and they both came back to themselves.

"Wha. . .? Why. . .?" John stammered as he got his breath back.

"The sexual tension was getting in the way. Now its all out in the open." Samantha whispered huskily. "And I wanted to give you a little. . .incentive. Consider that a preview of the after party."

"Uh. . .yeah. . .thanks. . .man. . .The world could have ended and I probably wouldn't have cared."

"Oh yeah, then we could have been together forever in the afterlife," Samantha giggled jokingly before suddenly sitting up in surprise. "Wait, the gravestone."

"What about it?" John asked.

"It said, 'together forever in death.' Maybe even though she married another, she never really stopped loving him. Maybe she loved him so much that she ordered someone to dig up his hand upon her death and bury it with her.

"Or she meant it metaphorically and spiritually."

"Or she meant it literally. Do you have any better ideas?"

"No, no I don't, and I can't sit here and do nothing. You hold on tight to that shotgun and pray you are right."

.~o()o~.

Come on, wake up, unless you want me to drag your fat ass all over this basement." Leah patted Dean's cheeks. She was rewarded with a quiet groan and glimpse of brilliant green eyes.

"Five more minutes," his eyes slid shut again.

"Don't you dare shut those eyes. Move twenty feet and you can sleep all you want," Leah pleaded with him. Dean ignored her so she went for the low blow. "Sammy needs you."

"Sammy?" he was struggling to his feet ever before his eyes were open.

"Good boy, now come on. I'll take you to Sammy." Dean nearly took a nosedive to the floor but Leah shoved her shoulder under his arm and halted his downward journey, even though his weight caused her to stagger. She guided his stumbling feet as best she could but it was slow going.

"Stay there, we're coming to you," she called when they reached the hall by the stairs and saw Sam, barely able to stand upright, but ready to dash out after them regardless.

"Just a few more feet, Dean. We're almost there," she encouraged.

"Coming. . .Sammy," he whispered as once again his legs tried to slide out from under him.

A horrible shriek announced the ghost's return and suddenly every loose object in the basement was in the air and flying around.

They managed to avoid the chairs, but Dean took a sudoku book to the small of his back that sent him to his knees. The salt and pepper shakers hit Leah in the back of the head, sending her glasses flying. She panicked, immediately disoriented by the objects in the air.

It was only because she was holding Dean so close that she saw the pen speeding like a spear toward the back of his neck.

Even then, it was like it materialized in the air mere inches away and she didn't have the time to shove him away, only enough to move her hand two inches upward to protect him. It plunged right through her hand and an inch out the other side and that's where it stayed, dripping with red.

Adrenaline was pumping so hard that she barely felt it and soon the blurry shapes in front of her coalesced into Sam and Shelby and they were being pulled across the line into relative safety.

Leah was shaking hard as Sam spoke to her gently. "Let me see your hand."

"No!" she shouted and glared at the blur she assumed was Sam's face. "Don't touch me, don't touch me." she kept repeating this, pushing him away when he reached for her. He could only sit there helpless and watch as she cradled her injured hand to her chest and covered her face with her other arm, trying to slow down her breathing in the artificial darkness.

"I need to look at it," Sam spoke from above her.

"I know, I know, just give me a minute," she mumbled, curled up and waiting for her breaths to grow deeper and her heart to stop pounding a mile a minute. Finally, she sucked in one huge breath, held it and blew it out through her mouth before raising her head, perfectly calm and composed. "Ok," she held her hand out toward the direction she last heard Sam's voice.

"What are you, a robot?" Dean asked, incredulous.

"No, I am definitely human," she rolled her eyes at him. "Robots don't bleed."

"Um yeah, but you were panicking. . ."

"Yeah, and panic does absolutely no good, so now I'm done." she sucked in a deep breath when Sam took hold of her hand, but didn't make another sound. "I don't think it broke anything. My fingers aren't numb and I can still move them, it just hurts like a son of a bitch. I think you should just break it off so it is shorter, wrap something around it so we can stop the bleeding. You don't have your first aid kit with you here so we should hold off on taking it out until the ghost is dealt with and we can take care of it properly."

Sam and Dean both stared at her as if she had two heads before Sam tore off a strip of his t-shirt to bind up her hand. "That is what I would do."

They all jumped as a large crash shook the table they crouched behind. The ghost couldn't touch it because it was behind the line of salt, but he could hurl things at it. He had now graduated to chairs and heavy boxes from the storage room. The table groaned and shuddered under the weight.

"I will not be denied," the ghostly voice of Ephraim Bauer filled the room. "You left me to die. You ignored my screams and pleas for help as I bled out, gasping for air. You didn't lift a finger."

"Awesome,' Dean muttered. "We had to be hunting a monologuer."

"I did it out of love," the ghost wept. "I am not a monster. Everything I did, I did for her."

"What did you do?" Shelby asked, raising her voice to be heard over the crashing.

"Don't encourage it," Dean whispered in her ear.

"There was another woman, but it wasn't like that. I wasn't tired of Rachel. I wasn't looking for someone younger."

"That's what they all say," Sam spoke next.

"You don't understand. I was a man. I had needs, violent and rough and animalistic. I needed to let the beast out and I could never do that to my sweet, fragile, vanilla wife. The other woman was never my love, just my release."

"You sick bastard," Dean growled. "You deserved everything you got."

"Did I? My wife found me here and her love drove her mad. She cut off my hand, my adulterous hand, she called it and when I lay, faint from blood loss on the floor, she dragged me here to this wall, where one last panel was waiting to be placed. She shoved me inside and sealed me there herself. She told if she couldn't have my whole heart, than no one would. Then she left me to die a slow painful death. And you, working upstairs, you heard my screams as I tried to fight my way out, blood loss making me weaker than a kitten. You looked the other way and I paid the price."

"That wasn't us," Leah said. "I wasn't even born yet."

"It doesn't matter anymore, all I want is to be free and the only way I can be free is if I have my revenge. You'll do." He redoubled his efforts on the table and the four watched in horror as the wood began to crack down the middle, jagged edges splintering, ready to impale them when the barrier came down.

"This time, I will be free," Ephraim whispered.

.~o()o~.

John shovelled frantically, cursing every second it took him to shovel the dirt away. Finally, he reached the coffin below him. With one solid movement, he cracked the lid open and pried it up and there, upon the decomposed chest of Rachel Bauer, lay the skeletal hand of her dead husband.

He scrambled out of the grave, Samantha already standing ready with the salt and lighter fluid. In seconds, the bones were burning and John stood by the grave, arm around Samantha's shoulders, pulling her closer. "I hope its enough," he whispered.

.~o()o~.

Sam curled his body around Leah's, cradling his head to her chest, shielding her from what was about to happen. Dean unconsciously mimicked the pose as he protected Shelby from the inevitable. The table was a mass of splinters, mere seconds away from falling apart. Ephraim shrieked and there was a pure flash of bright white light and then. . .nothing but the sound of their breathing.

The boys relaxed in relief. "Dad came through," Dean sighed.

Sam lifted Leah's head to look into her eyes. "It's ok. It's over."


	10. Chapter 10

They sat in the rubble, catching their breath and starting to realize that the nightmare was truly over.

"Well, Bacon," Leah sighed. "We survived."

"Bacon?" Dean looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

"Oh, I mean Shelby," Leah laughed. "She came and hung out with my niece and nephew one day and when she left, we told my niece to say goodbye. So she waved and said 'bye bye Bacon.' It kind of stuck. You ok, Dean?" Leah looked over to where Dean sat, stunned.

"I have spent half the night in close quarters with a girl named Bacon and I haven't even tasted her yet?" He gently took Shelby's hand in his, raised her arm to his lips and gently licked it. He moaned softly in the back of his throat and sucked the delicate skin over her pulse into his mouth. Shelby closed her eyes and gasped.

"Dude," he said to Sam, voice hushed and awed. "She tastes like a hamburger."

Sam and Leah looked at each other and burst into laughter. Then Sam saw something reflecting the light out of the corner of his eye. He reached out with one long arm and snagged it. Next thing Leah knew, he was gently sliding her glasses back on her face and the world was coming back into focus. She sighed in relief when she realized they were unharmed. She kissed him softly in gratitude and soon found her head spinning as he deepened the kiss immediately.

Dean and Shelby were also busy forgetting the world existed as Dean continued tasting her skin, following along her arm to her elbow and up to her shoulder. He was just beginning to get annoyed with her sleeves when they heard loud footsteps and frantic voices shouting their names.

"We're down here," Sam shouted and then his father and Samantha were pulling away the boxes, chairs and other debris to make a path out of the basement.

Soon they were upstairs, at the same table they had been at before and discussing the next move.

Sam had Leah's hand cradled in his as he prepared to remove the pen, clean and stitch the wound and bandage it. "You know, we could run you to the hospital if you would be more comfortable with that," he said before he began.

"Ugh no, I hate doctors and hospitals and you really don't want to go to the Swift Current hospital unless you have less than four hours to live and won't make it anywhere else. You seem to know what you are doing and I trust you."

"What time is it," Dean asked from where he sat sprawled out, getting his eyes checked for concussion by his father.

"About 3:30. You have a mild concussion. You should get your brother to wake you every half hour for the rest of the night."

"Oh, I'm not sleeping," Dean grinned. "I plan to spend the rest of the night eating Bacon. I really can't get enough of Bacon."

Sam groaned and put his head in his hands. Shelby giggled and blushed.

"Are you hurt, son?" John asked, confused.

"No, my brain was just flooded by unwanted mental images. The person who invents the brain brush will make a fortune." Sam muttered.

"So, not to be a downer or anything, but how the hell are we going to explain this?" Leah asked. "We can't tell them the truth and this mess is definitely enough to cost us our jobs."

"Don't worry about it. We'll tamper with the security footage, at least back before closing so they won't even know you allowed us in here and then we will break the locks and disable the security system so it looks like a break in. And then you lie, say everything was finished when you left and that it was locked. We will make sure they won't have any evidence to place you here. They trust you and it won't be a big deal," John said. "Sammy is a whiz with computers, he can even make it so you clocked out on time."

"Dad, it's Sam," Sam whined. John just shot him a look.

Shelby, Samantha and Leah just watched as the boys easily and efficiently staged the robbery, even putting a bit of ambiguous graffiti on one of the walls to make it look like the work of random vandals.

By 4:00 they were standing outside the door.

"So. . .uh. . .Dad," Sam began awkwardly. "You sticking around?"

"Well. . .I will probably be in town for a day or two, but I can't promise I'll see you, I have. . .things to do."

"Uh yeah. . .sure."

Samantha turned to John. "If you want to follow me, I'll show you to the. . .hotel I mentioned earlier." And they were gone, just like that. Sam and Dean looked at their feet awkwardly wishing their dad could be a little more subtle.

"So, are we going to drop the girls off at home and get a motel, catch a few hours of sleep before leaving town?" Sam asked.

"Are you kidding?" Dean looked at his brother, aghast. "You can do what you want tonight, but you are on your own. I have plans."

"But. . ."

"You'll be fine, Sammy. I'm not leaving you all alone."

"Dean," Sam huffed, "can't you at least drop me off at the same motel?"

"Who said anything about a motel? My baby has a backseat. Let's go, Bacon, I'm starving." And Sam was left staring at his brother's back as he and Shelby walked to the car, practically glued to each other already.

"I'm sorry," Leah spoke. "I know you don't want to be stuck here with me. . ."

"No, that's not it at all," Sam gripped her shoulders tightly. "I would love to spend more time with you. It's just that we never stay in one place to long and I'm not like my brother. I don't just hook up, I fall in love and I stay in love, and I can't afford to fall in love right now, not while the thing that killed my. . .mother is out there."

"It wasn't just your mother, was it?"

"No," Sam said quietly. "Look, I will tell you, but can we go somewhere? We are much to close to the Impala for my peace of mind and you are shivering."

"Come on, we will head back to my place. It's not far."

.~o()o~.

Dean whipped off his jacket and laid it on the seat. "My lady," he said, bowing and gesturing her into the seat. "After you."

"Are you sure about this," Shelby asked, suddenly shy. "I am a mess. I have been over a grill all day. I am covered in stale grease, sweat and dirt from the storage room."

Dean grasped the back of her head gently, tangling his fingers in her hair, he tipped her head back, placing his lips just below her right ear, not moving, just drinking her in. "You are intoxicating," he breathed, dragging his lips down her neck to her collarbone. "I want you in this moment, just as you are."

His whispered words ignited fire through her entire body, his breath ghosting across the places his lips had touched, making her shiver.

"Then I'm yours." She lay back in the seat and Dean followed her, stripping off his shirt as he went.

"Bacon is my favourite food group," he winked at her. Then there were no more words.

.~o()o~.

Samantha and John broke apart, gasping for air as they both came down from their high.

"Wow," was all she could say.

"Yeah," John agreed. "You definitely make a great incentive. I am pretty sure I would finish all my hunts in half the time if I had you to come back to."

Sam laughed happily, trailing her hand down his stomach and over his rock hard abs. "I don't think I would complain in the slightest. She kissed along his stubbled jaw line, still trailing her hand down his body. "Ready for another round?" He gasped when her hand reached its destination.

"Oh, I can go all night. I've always been into marathons."

"Then let's up the stakes a little. First person to give up and fall asleep buys breakfast?"

John winked at her. "I hope you brought your wallet," he said, rolling on top of her again.

.~o()o~.

"You'll have to be quiet, my brother is sleeping," Leah said as she led Sam through the door of her apartment.

Leah ducked into the bathroom and changed as Sam kicked off his boots and stripped out of his shirt and sprawled out on her bed. She joined him almost immediately, snuggling into his side.

"I had a girlfriend," Sam spoke when they were settled. "It was serious, only a matter of time before I popped the question. I came home one night to find her burning on the ceiling, the same way my mom was killed twenty two years earlier, by the same monster we have been hunting all our lives."

"I see why you would be hesitant to start anything new."

"I loved her, I still do. She was my life, my soul. It was like everything good in my life died with her. The wound is still so fresh and I am afraid to ever feel so much again." Sam's voice was choked with emotion. Leah leaned up on her elbow above him, brushing his hair back from his forehead.

"She must have been a wonderful girl, to deserve such love."

"She was so much more than I deserved."

"After her, I must not seem like much," Leah whispered sadly.

"That's not it at all," Sam said. "When I met Jess, I knew I would love her and that we would last. I look at you and I know the same thing. You are not her. You aren't even very much alike but I know you would consume my whole heart exactly the same way she did. And that is what terrifies me, how easily it would be to let go of everything and fall fast and hard and never look back, only to lose you to some monster."

"You know, one of the beautiful things about love is the letting go of all fears and just falling."

"Yeah, I remember. Look, I don't know what you expect from this night. I want you like you wouldn't believe, but I am not ready yet, not for this."

Hey, it's ok. Truth to be told, I was hoping to find a way to let you down gently. I want you to, but I made a decision a long time ago that I was going to wait until I was married."

"Good for you," Sam smiled. "I admire you for making that decision and sticking to it."

"I'll tell you one thing, it has never been harder to hold to it than this night.

Sam chuckled then became serious once again. "I wouldn't let you live in a house that was falling down and so I can't let you stay in a broken heart, but once I've made a few repairs, I'll give you the grand tour and, if you still want to, you can move in and stay forever."

"Deal," Leah smiled and snuggled back into his chest, ear tuning naturally into his heartbeat, his strong hands wrapping around her shoulders. She slung her leg over his thighs and pulled herself closer. "Is this alright?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "I want you close to me for tonight. And I wouldn't say no to a goodnight kiss." Leah crawled up his body and bent her head to his. Their kiss was pure and sweet, full of healing and promise, and over far too soon. They fell asleep like that, bodies tangled and sharing the same air.

.~o()o~.

They all met the next afternoon in the parking lot behind A&W. The restaurant was closed for maintenance but they expected to be open again by the end of the week. Sam and Leah were the only one's that looked even remotely rested.

"I am heading out tonight," John said. "After supper. I'll try to keep in touch." He stood there for a second, awkwardly, before reaching out and quickly hugging his boys. He turned quickly to Samantha. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah, I guess we're going Dutch," she giggled as they walked away, his arm slung over her shoulders.

"Dude, that is so gross," Dean grimaced.

As goodbyes go, theirs was relatively short. Everything that needed to be said had already been voiced and there was nothing left but a final kiss to take away for remembrance. They exchanged numbers and then there was nothing left to do but stand and watch the Impala drive away.

"Did it really happen?" Leah asked Shelby.

"It does seem to amazing to be real, doesn't it?" Shelby agreed.

"How are we just going to go back to work, day in and day out?"

"We go back and we let time pass and before we know it, they'll be back, for real and hopefull for good."

"I don't think I'm going to like the waiting," Leah said softly.

"No, but it will be worth it in the end."

.~o()o~.

"So, another notch on your belt, another phone number to ditch as soon as we are out of town," Sam asked sarcastically.

Dean watched the road before him sadly. "I guess I've never given you any reason to expect anything different." They sat there in silence for a little longer before Dean spoke again. "You ever feel like it's the right person and just the wrong time?"

"Ever since I laid eyes on Leah," Sam nearly whispered, sitting thoughtfully before shaking his head. "But I believe the right time will come. And then, we'll be back."

Dean grinned.

"Hey, Dean?" Sam looked at his brother, Dean raised an eyebrow and looked back. "Can we stop and pick up some febreze? The car reeks."

Dean just laughed.

THE END


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